Conservation Northwest protects and connects old-growth forests and other wild areas from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies, vital to a healthy future for us, our children, and wildlife. Since 1989, Conservation Northwest has worke
Issue link: http://conservationnw.uberflip.com/i/104888
From discovery to recovery Jasmine Minbashian Special projects director, jasmine@conservationnw.org About an hour and half into the ride, we finally saw some cows. They were in a large meadow grazing together but we could hear some mooing on the steep forested slopes above us. So we decided to break into the woods to see if some of the cattle had wandered off into a different part of the grazing allotment. I did my best to keep up as our horses weaved swiftly through dense and brushy forest. Several times I had to duck branches to avoid getting scraped off my horse. Finally we reached the ridge, and though we found no cows, Joe assured me that it was important to check every corner of the allotment to make sure we left no individual cows behind���that the key to a cow���s defense is safety in numbers. Much like bison who graze in herds, cows have a better chance at withstanding wolf attacks if they are in larger herds. We rode back down to the herd and he surveyed the bunch and found that one of the cows had been limping. Using some very fancy ropework, he swiftly and efficiently roped the cow and had her hobbled on her side in minutes. He had found some hoof rot, which he treated and then released the animal. The element of unpredictability We then talked about how wolves will often prey on the weak animals in the herd, so it was important to check on your cows frequently and remove or treat the sick ones. It was critical he said, that cows be moved often���both to create an element of unpredictability and to have consistent human presence in the area. There are additional benefits he stated to such management. Joe has seen the condition of both the range and the cattle greatly improve by not having cattle concentrated in one area for so long, improving the quality of the forage. After witnessing the commitment and pride that Joe put into his work, I had to ask him why he went to all this trouble when there are no laws in Canada preventing him from simply killing off the wolves and ���getting rid of his problem.��� His answer has left a profound impact on me that I carry into my work today. He said for simply three reasons. ���First���even if I was the best tracker and sharpshooter in the world, there is no way I could kill the entire pack. Even if I was able to���very quickly a new pack would take its place. Second, we use public lands and the public values wildlife and wolves and we need to respect that. And lastly, because it works.��� Though Joe���s story never made it into the final cut of ���Land of the Lost Wolves,��� it is one of the most important stories out there to be told. Washington State is now at a critical juncture���we are just starting to learn to live with wolves again in our mountains. We would be wise to play close to attention to other areas that have been living with wolves for a long time and learn from their experience. Alberta rancher Joe Engelhart and his neighbors take turns riding the herd. Since the project began, they have lost no cattle to wolves. Photo �� Lisa Whiteman/NRDC photo above Keeping the Northwest wild Wolf recovery What���s next for wolves? Washington is now home to nine confirmed packs of wolves: two in the Cascades and seven in northeastern Washington���s Columbia Highlands. We expect that number only to grow over the next decade. With wolves here to stay, Conservation Northwest has been working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and other organizations to implement the state���s wolf conservation and management plan that was adopted last December. With a solid recovery plan now in place, Conservation Northwest is refocusing our efforts to make the plan work on the ground so that Washington is known as the place where wolf recovery is done right. As demonstrated by the Lookout and Wedge packs, however, wolf recovery is not without its challenges. Wolves are habitat generalists and can survive in a variety of conditions, but their biggest threat is humans. See articles in Inside/Outside center section. Each of these packs lives in areas close to people or in areas with grazing allotments. The ultimate key to wolves��� recovery and survival will be building human tolerance and minimizing conflict. We���re learning from the successes as well as the mistakes made in the Rockies and elsewhere and working to provide the necessary tools to those who need them most. See ���Range Riding in Washington,��� next page. One paramount lesson from the Rockies is the importance of minimizing conflict through collaborative efforts whenever possible (see article, this page). In addition to conflict with livestock, there is potential for wolves to be a source of concern for hunters���who see the wolves as competition for a limited prey base of ungulates including deer and elk. There is much misinformation surrounding the effect of wolves on ungulates on both sides of the debate and very few efforts to share actual data. With several hunters on staff, Conservation Northwest sees benefit in initiating a conversation around the issue of wolves and ungulates. See ���Hunters talk about wolves,��� page 8. This issue will come more and more into the forefront as wolves grow in number and the wildlife commission sets new population objectives for deer and elk in the state. Continued next page Fall 2012 5